The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1887-09-13

The desperate straits to which the
opposition ticket is reduced is illus
trated by their heavy campaign
points. They must have sometb;ng
to shout and grow red in the lace
over, and after vainly casting about
have lit on the payment of the Ma
kiki Claims" as a rallying cry, and
Finance" in the Bulletin, and Rosa.
Poepoe q Co.'s electioneering sheet
are lashing themselves into Iather
over this horrible iniquity.
The Constitution tinkerers are in
very much the same position concern
ing this point, that the man was who
sat down ON a hornet-he better have
kept away.
A brief statement Of the so-called
.'Aakili Claims is as follows.
During 1S61-2 it was thought best
to buy out all the private owners Of
land in Makiki Valley. The land was
accordingly condemned by properly
appointed commission, and the own
ers awarded damages. Instead OF
paying first, and taking the lands
afterwards, the Government took pos
session Of the lands and removed the
owners, stating that compensation
would be made as soon as the Legis
lature met, in 1884. Most of the
owners were native Hawaiians, al
though there were several foreigners.
Their homes and all they owned were
in Makiki, and when they were
driven out, number of them camped
out on the sand slopes of Round Top
and built brush huts to live in, while
they subsisted on sweet potatoes.
Eighteen hundred and eighty-four
came and went. Promise after promise
was made and broken. Several of
the claimants brought suits in the
Supreme Court against the Govern
ment and obtained judgments, but
that was all they did obtain. The
Treasury was full for coronation, big
salaries, and foreign mission fun
merry, but never a cent for the half
starved wretches who had been
driven from their homes. Minis
tries came and Ministries went,
until the fates brought the Legis-
lature Of 1856 into existence. The
Cabinet brought in an appropriation
bill, but although they had made
promises enough to make them black
in the face, no item appeared for the
Makiki claimants. A bill making
provision for the payment of the
claims was introduced by member
from one Of the other islands, and
Notwithstanding the strenuous oppo-
sition Of the member from Honolulu,
j. Keau. was passed by large ma
jority. Well, then, what next? 1t was
signed and became a law? "Not
much it didn't" The patriotic crowd
who ran the machine at that time
needed the money to keep the Board
ofGenealogy well polished, and to pay
a lot of military salaries that never had
been heard of before, and the fate of
the nation depended upon getting
the Kaimiloa into shape, therefore
the AIakik claims bill was pigeon
holed, and neither signed nor vetoed.
The Legislature adjourned and 1856
passed. Five sets of Ministers had
taken their seats since the Makiki
claimants were evicted each prom
ised payment and each broke the
promise. Eighteen hundred and
eighty seven came in and still the
claimants starved and squatted on
vacant lots for a living. Two Ger
mans laid their claims before their
consul, and the matter was made a
diplomatic one with threat of
action on the part of Germany if the
Hawaiian Government did not meet |
its obligations to German citizens.
The first half of 1887 passed and not |